Jw, why the anticipated fall down the standings from Faiella and Scali?

P/B have had more opportunity so far to get judges' feedback at competitions, and tweak the programs--esp the Short Dance. F/S is more of a ?? right now and my guess will be slightly slow out of the blocks. Nothing scientific, just a gut feeling about this particular competition. BTW, one competition does not necessarily equate to a "fall down the standings." My personal preference from what I've seen in past seasons is actually for F/S's skating.

But there's a rumor P/B have done more than just tweak their short dance... they may have replaced Amelie with Dr. Zhivago which would put them at a disadvantage, they'll have had less time to refine the new program.

Faiella/Scali have often struggled in the GP, and usually peak much later in the season. I'm not expecting them to be dominant right now. P/B may have changed their SD, but so did D/W, and they still performed well at NHK.

Faiella/Scali have often struggled in the GP, and usually peak much later in the season. I'm not expecting them to be dominant right now. P/B may have changed their SD, but so did D/W, and they still performed well at NHK.

Still too chicken to make actual predictions....but I'm so curious about a number of things...
As Pogue says P/B are not D/W and D/W changed their SD very early on...I don't know..I can't try to count the respective weeks between dances for each team ( I'm obsessed, just not that obsessed )..but I bet F/S are coming into this very prepared, and Camerlengo did a good job on their choreography last year...But do we even know their music yet ? Last time I checked , it was still a mystery. OTOH I think ( if true )that the Zhivago switch sounds very hopeful for P/B. I quite liked the look of B/S's SD from earlier on, and they will only have had to polish...

I hope Mirai and Akiko both do well...I don't much like what I've seen of either of Miki's programs ( surprise.)..and really not looking forward to Leonova's costumes..

Can't wait to see if Joubert delivers on his choreography..and if the coaching change has helped Verner,

Hope I/M don't suffer from back to back competitions on opposite sides of the world. i'd like to see them have a chance at the podium. Interested to see how H/J do. I thought they looked promising , last year. Y/C have a very nice FP. Usually I'm not keen on Ave Maria , but I liked theirs very much.